Bad Things
by I'm A Teapot
Summary: The Supernatural series by Carver Edland was supposed to be made up, but when two fans of the books are confronted by hunters and demons alike, they must come to terms with the fact that it's real. And they're in danger. OC centric. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Moved from my old account... chapter two is being revised. Enjoy!**

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Even completely stretched out, Janaya didn't take up all of the space on the couch. True there wasn't exactly a whole lot of space for anyone else to sit down next to her, but there was a comfortable gap between her feet and the arm of the couch that meant she wasn't curled in an uncomfortable way. It wasn't that the couch was terribly long, it was simply that Janaya was very small. Standing at barely five foot two she hardly looked threatening, from a distance, but of course appearances were often deceiving, especially in Hollywood, and Janaya had been forced to learn how to be anything but un-threatening. From her spot on the couch, if Janaya had turned her head to her left, she would have seen one of the most breath taking views of the city an apartment complex could offer. And it was pretty damn breath taking, with the money Janaya's mother brought in, they could afford such a view without even blinking. But Janaya didn't turn her head to the left, she had seen the view a million times before, and anyway, her attention was concentrated entirely on the book in her hands. She had read it before, many times, but it was just as exciting every time. Maybe this time, Sam and Dean would find a way to break the deal and Dean wouldn't go to hell. Maybe.

There was a quiet knocking at the door but Janaya was far too engrossed in her book to pay attention to it. The knocking grew more persistent but Janaya ignored it. Perhaps her mother would – no of course she wouldn't get the door, she wasn't even home. As usual.

"God fucking dammit, Janaya, if you don't open this door right now, I will break it down."

Sighing, Janaya lowered her arm so the book was by her side and she glanced at the door. "I'd like to see you try," she muttered before grudgingly getting to her feet and heading for the door. She sighed loudly as she swung the door open so that Nora, who was the only person who could have been on the other side of the door with a tone like that, would know that she did so against her will. Nora jumped and screamed when the door opened, staring at Janaya in terror. Whether it was real terror or not, Janaya couldn't tell and she raised an eyebrow at her friend. "What's your problem?"

"Why are you dressed so scary?"

Janaya groaned and turned away from the door motioning for Nora and Val, the quieter girl next to her, to follow. Janaya was wearing black slacks and a white tank top, her usual relaxing-and-reading outfit, she wasn't dressed as anything at all... although the lack of make-up on her face would scare even her. Nora on the other hand was wearing black jeans, a black corset top with long sleeves that, Janaya thought, tilting her head to the side as she examined it, looked very familiar, and thick black combat boots that also looked very familiar. None of those things... except maybe the black jeans... were even close to Nora's normal style and Janaya frowned.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "And what are you wearing?"

Nora froze, the apple she had swiped from the dining table half way to her mouth. "Cassandra's party?" she said in a tone that clearly meant Janaya should know this. "It's Halloween? Come on Janaya, you've known about this for weeks."

Janaya groaned again. "Oh come on, are we seriously going to that?" Janaya and Nora, and even Val, weren't really among the well liked seniors at their school. In fact they were incredibly disliked at their school. Janaya, despite her money and the fame that went along with being her mother's daughter, didn't particularly want to be liked by the people who's opinion supposedly mattered. She thought they were all superficial airheads who wouldn't know how to read if they didn't have all those trashy magazines to worship. They thought she was a bitch. Nora on the other hand, though not liking the 'superficial airheads' any more than Janaya, wouldn't have minded being more well liked, but because she didn't have the money every one else did, she was attending the school on scholarships, they didn't feel that she belonged. Not that she didn't mind being a social pariah along with Janaya. They were, after all, best friends and had been for quite some time now. Val was a different story. She was new, and quiet, and smart. And at a private school for the rich in LA, that just wasn't the kind of person one needed to be. So Janaya and Nora had taken her under their wings and in the short time she had been with them, she had flourished a lot. She shared the same love for the Supernatural book series, she had the same sense of humour, and the same taste in music. Hanging out with people more like her had given her confidence and it hadn't been long before she had been joining in on Janaya and Nora's constant attempts to undermine both the teachers at the school and the other students.

"Yes we are seriously going to that," Val said. Janaya's attention snapped to her in vague surprise. "The kings and queens of the senior school are going to be drunk off their faces, completely vulnerable to every possible prank we could pull on them, and you want to pass that up?"

Janaya grinned. Perhaps Val had been spending _too_ much time with them... she was learning quickly. "You're right, what was I thinking?" She started to head down the hall to her bedroom but stopped and turned back to face Nora and Val. "What am I supposed to wear to this thing?"

"It's a dress up party," Nora said, her mouth now full of apple. "You wear a costume."

Frowning, Janaya looked the other two girls up and down, taking in not only Nora's strange change of style, but Val's simple green dress that she was fairly certain only Val could pull off. "So what are you two supposed to be?"

Nora grinned and gave a small twirl. "I'm you," she said mischievously, and Janaya slapped herself in the forehead. Nora usually wore much more colour than that. Though with her red hair it was a wonder she managed to pull that off. But the black suited her... that didn't stop Janaya from wanting her close back though. "And Val is a wood nymph." Of course she was. Janaya gave Val an approving smile. Val was very nymph like anyway, probably why her costume was only a lovely dress. She was tall and thin with long, light brown hair. Despite her 'low' social class she had guys constantly admiring her from afar.

As Janaya ventured into her room to put together some kind of costume, Val raised an eyebrow at Nora who was still munching on the apple. "Are you planning on telling her your reasons for wanting to attend this shindig?" she asked.

Nora shrugged. "Please, this is Janaya, we're talking about, she probably already knows."

It was true, Janaya was very attuned to the things that were on Nora's mind. Years of spending constant time together, and watching her back, had made Nora very easy to read. She couldn't read her mind or anything ridiculous like that, but Nora was practically an open book to her, it was rare that Nora could hid anything from her. And so it was that Janaya knew that Nora had a thing for not one, but _two_ guys. She felt for one more deeply than the other, but unfortunately that was the one she felt was totally unattainable, hence Cassandra's party. The other guy Nora liked, Janaya couldn't remember his name as she didn't particularly care, was one of the social elite. He was nicer, Janaya remembered, never being an outright douchebag to any of them, even stopping to have a couple of conversations with Nora... hence the crush. Janaya had figured out that was Nora's real motive when she'd first brought up the party three weeks ago... she'd just hoped Nora would chicken out before forcing her to go.

"What is she psychic?" Val asked jokingly.

"Wouldn't put it past her," Nora said through another mouthful of apple.

"I'm not psychic," Janaya said, emerging from her room faster than the other two had anticipated. "And you don't even like apples," she pointed out.

"I'm hungry," Nora retorted simply, taking another bite out of the apple with a loud crunch to prove her point. "Nice costume.... what are you, a pirate?"

"Apparently," Janaya shrugged, pulling a packet of salt crackers out of the cupboard and snacking on them, offering the box to Val who shook her head. Janaya hadn't really been going for any particular look when getting changed, but stripy tights, black skirt and white blouse apparently meant she was a pirate.

"Are you going to do your make up or your hair?" Val asked.

"What's wrong with my hair?" When Val looked horrified, realising the implications of her words Janaya laughed and waved off her apologies. "It's fine, I know, it's unruly." Unruly was putting it nicely, Janaya's dark curls never did what they were told... ever. "And I would do my make up if _someone_ hadn't stolen my eye-liner," she said, looking pointedly at Nora who sighed, reached into her pocket and tossed the pencil to Janaya. She disappeared back down the hall, leaving Nora to finish her apple and Val to finally reach into the cracker box and nibble on the corner of one. Nora narrowed her eyes at the core and glanced over at the kitchen, separated from the living room by the dining table, and spotted the trash can. She drew back her arm, the one holding the apple core, took aim and launched it, biting bottom lip gently as she watched the core pass through the air. It hit the rim of thrash can and bounced up. Nora and Val both gasped, this small amount of tension was enough to entertain them. When the apple core finally fell into the bin, Nora punched her fist into the air and cheered while Val applauded loudly.

"Okay, you nutcases let's get this over with," Janaya said, emerging once again, this time with make up complete, and pushing a large hoop earring she'd stolen from her mother into her air, hoping to add to the pirate look.

"What about your hair?" Val asked.

"Why are you so caught up on my hair?" Janaya joked, running a hand through it and ruffling it up slightly.

"We'll get you a hat on the way," Nora said, already halfway out the door, Janaya's car keys in hand. Janaya rolled her eyes, guessing she would be sober driving that night.

Cassandra's house was massive, her family clearly liked to flaunt their wealth. It was beautiful, Mediterranean styled, and had any of the girls liked Cassandra even a little bit, they might have complimented her. That was, until the door swung open and they could see what was happening inside. It was well past dark, they girls had arrived very late, and the teenagers had been left alone in a giant house where the liquor cabinet wasn't locked and chaos had ensued. Granted, no body had trashed anything yet, which was in itself a miracle, but almost everyone was drunk, dancing to crap music, or making out in public areas. Which was weird, a house this big would have plenty of rooms for drunken couples to have their way with each other. As the girls entered the house, Nora seemed to freeze up and she looked as if she were about to turn around and walk away. Nora and big crowds didn't really mix, even drunk, out of it crowds... maybe especially drunk, out of it crowds.

"I'll be in the kitchen seeing what mischief I can cook up," Val said, moving quickly ahead of them. Despite her shy appearance, crowds had seemingly no affect on her. Janaya groaned at the pun before turning to Nora and giving her a reassuring smile.

"Come on, Nor, it's not that scary. I'm sure he's here somewhere."

Nora smiled slightly at Janaya, who took her wrist and tugged her inside into the loud, smokey mass. Instantly people were brushing against her, but she set her jaw and followed Janaya boldly, weaving through the crowds and the maze of rooms, looking for her man.  
A head of sun-bleached blonde hair ahead of her caused her heart to skip a beat and she stepped out from behind Janaya, walking forwards with confidence she didn't know she had. The blonde guy turned around, his eyes resting on hers and she smiled, biting her lip a little with nervousness. A tall blonde girl appeared next to Nora and the blonde guy grinned.  
"Nicole!" he exclaimed, holding out his arms for a hug.  
The blonde girl rested herself in his arms and Nora swerved to the left, grabbing a paper cup out of a party-goers hand. She took a large sip as a small pain shot through her chest. Eurgh. Tequila.

Janaya watched Nora disappear into the sea of people, chugging alcohol as she went, and sighed. She'd be alright, she hadn't even been that into the guy to start with. Setting her face in it's usual "don't fuck with me" glare, she weaved through the crowd looking for something to do while Val pranked and Nora drank. It didn't take long for an unwilling distraction to grab her attention. That being, the hand on her ass. Halting her steps and sighing, Janaya grabbed a hold of whoever's fingers and slowly turned around, hardly surprised to find Tony giving her what he evidently though was a come hither look. Janaya thought it looked more like a "I'd fuck you if I wasn't about to fall over" look. Tony was 'that guy' in school who everybody loved and hated at the same time. Janaya just hated him, he'd broken Nora's heart and Janaya was still pissed Nora wouldn't let her break his face.

"If you touch me again, I'll break you fingers," she said calmly, tossing his hand away from her, making him unbalanced and he staggered a little.

"Come on, Jay, you want me, you've always wanted me..." He stepped towards her and loomed over her, bending down so that not only was she now practically drowning in the smell of alcohol, but he was breathing all over her and it was making her uncomfortable.

"I'm giving you till the count of three, dickface," she said, not bothering with pleasantries that she would have at least attempted had this been campus. But this wasn't campus. And that meant no rules. "1... 2..." but Tony was gone before she could get to three, apparently he wasn't as stupid as he looked. Eventually Janaya found a couple of girls from her English class who she didn't totally hate and leant against the door frame as they handed her a drink of... she sipped it... vodka and regaled her with their tales of last weekends exploits.

Nora was still mentally kicking herself as she moved through the crowd, looking for somewhere a little less... crowded to sit. Or stand. She didn't really care as long as people would stop touching her. How could she be so stupid to think that he actually liked her? She took another swig of the drink, finishing it off. She screwed up the paper cup and chucked it away, taking another party-goers drink to a small protest of 'hey!'.  
This time was a better hit. Vodka. A preferable drink to tequila. She downed the drink in one gulp and found it suddenly harder to focus on anything. Trying to keep her head on, she headed back towards the front door, to see if she could find Janaya. As she entered the small entrance hall that was still packed with people, she saw Janaya leaning against a door-frame, talking to a couple of her friends. Nora opened her mouth to call out to Janaya, but was cut off by the door opening and two teenage boys walked in. Both black haired and handsome, Nora was slightly stunned for a second.  
Then their eyes turned black and her breath caught in her throat.

Janaya had seen them at the same time, Nora had and, also like Nora, had been momentarily struck by their good looks. The black in their eyes however sent a million thoughts running through her head. No one else seemed to even notice the boys' entrance let alone their strange eye phenomenon. Janaya managed to spot Nora in the middle of the crowd, their eyes met and they both came to the same conclusion: Demons. Just as quickly, Janaya shook the idea from her head. This wasn't a Supernatural book. This was real life. And in real life, demons didn't show up to teenage parties. That didn't stop her being worried though, they looked like trouble... and the black eyes were kind of hard to ignore. Moving quickly, Janaya excused herself from the conversation she had been ignoring and moved over to Nora, gripping her arm tightly and dragging her away from the front door.

"You saw that right?" Janaya asked in a hurried whisper, looking over her shoulder at the boys who seemed to only be standing and watching the party. "I mean, I'm not crazy?"

"You're damn crazy," Nora said automatically, her words slurring slightly. She frowned as she looked at the boys, noticing their black eyes again. "Dude, is it just me or do those guys have the most insane contact lenses you've ever seen?"

Janaya glanced over at the boys again and this time, she saw the black disappear from their eyes. "I can't say I've ever seen contact lenses that could do that," she muttered. The demon theory was beginning to make sense... kind of... in the way that crazy things start to make sense when you're panicking. Throw in the fact that it was Halloween and you had a great recipe for terrifying conclusions.

Nora was glaring down at her drink thoughtfully before gasping at it. "You!" she accused.

Janaya shook her head. "Nor, I don't think it's your drink."

One of the demons, the first to enter the house and the one who had decided he was in charge, looked around him. A house full of drunk teenagers. It had potential, with a little less music and a little more screaming, this could turn into his kind of party. Almost none of the party goers had noticed his or the other, younger looking demon's appearance which he was satisfied with until he came up with a plan. That was until he noticed two girls in the corner, glancing at him and whispering. One of them, he noticed, a red head, was very drunk and seemed unaware of her surroundings while the other, the one dressed as a pirate, who's glances weren't filled with longing like they would if the girls were merely checking him out, but instead were filled with a cross between disbelief and fear. Did she know what they were? He hadn't notice the other demon leave his side, he's been too preoccupied with the girls. But he shrugged. Whatever his brother did on his own time was his business. Besides, these two would need to be watched. Someone knowing what they were could make things difficult... or more interesting. He never had been one for the easy way.

The other demon was moving through the crowd, blending in easily with his young, good looks. This meat suit was about seventeen and a sweet face. And though it didn't make him look threatening at all, it did make him more dangerous. A blonde girl leaning against a door frame to his right caught his eye and she smiled seductively, inviting him over. A chuckle escaped his lips and he ignored her. Disgusting humans, he thought. Getting intoxicated and gyrating against each other was so typical of such an inferior race. Eventually, he found himself in an almost empty kitchen, the only occupant a tall brunette girl, filling a glass of water. Her pale green dress seemed somewhat modest compared to what the rest of the girls at this party were wearing and he let himself smile. A sweet young girl, it seemed. He stepped close behind her, breathing in her sugary scent and hearing her breath quicken. She froze, her muscles visibly tightening and he laughed.  
"Don't be afraid," he whispered. "Death is only for a split second." With that he slipped a knife out of the band of his jeans and drew it across her throat in a swift, fluid movement. Crimson blood splattered the windows in front of them and she let out a strangled gasp, before falling face first into the sink, her eyes open but devoid of life. Her quick death was the only mercy he was going to show tonight.

"Jay, I think we'd better go," Nora said, biting her lip nervously as she realised one of the guys had disappeared. Janaya wholeheartedly agreed and was ready to pull Nora out of the house and into the car when Nora moved in the opposite direction. "I'll go find Val, I think she's in the kitchen. Meet you outside in five minutes!"

"Nora!" Janaya protested firmly as her friend slipped away from her and disappeared among the crowd. She wanted to find Val too but now was a really, really stupid time to separate. Especially considering Nora was so drunk she could barely walk. With one last worried glance towards the guy in leather, she followed after Nora who had some how managed to make it really far ahead of her.

Nora quickened her pace and tried frantically to remember where exactly the kitchen was. The room spun slightly, making it hard for her to keep her balance. Trust her luck to be possibly attacked by demons when she's drunk. She finally found the kitchen, and slipped inside, the pounding music seeming suddenly faint and far away. Val was there, slumped over the sink and Nora froze. A shape moved next to her and she screamed, grabbing the nearest item (a glass salt shaker from the table) and threw it at her attacker, who yelled in pain as the glass shattered upon impact. The guy towered over her and she took a couple of quick steps back, but lost her balance. She watched his slightly surprised expression rush away from her, and with a crack and a sharp pain to the back of her head, everything went black.

Nora's loud scream caused Janaya to sprint the last couple of metres into the kitchen. How _had_ she gotten so far ahead of her? The sight Janaya met was not a pretty one, and she but back a gasp at seeing Val slumped over the sink, her lovely green dressed now stained red with her blood. One of the demons, which was what Janaya had now decided they had to be, was standing over Nora's unconscious form and Janaya was torn. She could go over there and try and get Nora away from him, but logic told her that wouldn't work very well without a weapon, so reluctantly, she backed away from the them and attempted to get out of the kitchen before the demon noticed her. Wondering why the hell demons couldn't just have stayed in her fucking imagination.

Unfortunately for her, the other demon had come looking for his companion and had stepped into the kitchen behind Janaya. He glanced at the other demon, who was staring down at Nora with a slightly surprised look on his face, before grabbing Janaya by the throat and slamming her against the wall, his eyes turning black again as he glared at her.

"Demons?" Janaya gasped, clawing at his hand.

The demon frowned, tilting his head to the side. "How did you..."

Apparently her theory had been correct. Not that that made her feel any better... at all. She stared firmly at the leather clad demon, who looked just as surprised as she did... most probably because he hadn't expected anyone to know what he was. The corners of her vision started to go black and she gasped desperately for air, digging her nails harder into the demon's hand. He let her go, apparently he wanted and answer to his half formed question, and she leant against the wall, breathing deeply, and massaged her bruised throat.

"What the _fuck,_" she growled. "You aren't real!" It occurred to her how ridiculous she sounded... and how stupid it was that she was antagonising two demons who would have no qualms about killing her. But at the moment, she didn't really care.

The younger looking demon turned his attention to her and smirked. "Looks like your worst nightmare just came true."

Janaya choked back laughter. "Please, my worst nightmare is clowns you two are just unwelcome."

Nora was slowly coming too, a sharp pain stabbing behind her eyes and the back of her head and her eyebrows knotted together. Why did she hurt so much? Where was Val...? Her brain clicked into over drive and her eyes opened slightly, she saw the demon who had killed Val no longer had his attention on her but on Janaya and, in a sudden burst of anger and adrenalin, Nora leapt to her feet and ran full speed at him. They collided and he stumbled, both of them skidding across the floor. She jumped on top of him and noted a look of shock before she slammed her fist into his cheek. Pain shot through her arm and hand but she ignored it, hitting him again in the nose, blood spurting down his face.

Janaya was momentarily stunned to see Nora acting so violently, usually that was her job, and she wasn't the only one in shock. The demon in front of her had diverted all of his attention to watching Nora pummel the other demon with vague amusement and surprise. Janaya snapped into action and kicked the leather clad demon as hard as she could between the legs. As he hunched forward in pain, she took a firm hold of his hair and introduced his face to her knee, somewhat forcefully. She dove forwards, grabbing Nora's wrist as her friend pulled back to punch the demon again, yanked Nora away from the demon and dragged her through the party and out the front door. Not stopping until both of them were securely in the car and said car was moving as fast as she dared through the city. She didn't want to go home, and she didn't think Nora did either... not that she'd have any say in the matter seeing as now that she wasn't punching anything, she was very nearly unconscious again. She took note of her surroundings and frowned at one of the signs. Live Oak Cemetry? Where the hell were – she cut off her thoughts as a relieved grin spread across her face. Her favourite book store owner was about to get a nice, early morning surprise.

The demons in the kitchen, bruised and beaten as they were, were completely embarrassed by the whole thing. Since when was it possible for two teenage girls to beat two demons in a fight? The older one growled as he managed to finally stand up straight.

"She got you good, Ranec," the other one, who was sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor, a bemused look on his face, said.

"Shut up," Ranec said, the curtains by the window above the sink catching fire. He looked out of the kitchen and through the party, but the girls had long gone. "Fucking bitch."

The younger demon pulled himself to his feet, touching his jaw and nose tenderly. "That girl's got an arm," he said, impressed.

Ranec frowned at him. "We'll track them down later." He glanced at the party goers. "Let's get this party started."

The other demon grinned, leaning to the side so he could see out of the kitchen door before nodding approvingly. "That is why you are my favourite brother."

"Mika," Ranec said, shaking his head at him. "I'm your only brother." Mika merely shrugged as Ranec left the kitchen and entered the living room. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he said grandly, shrugging off his leather jacket and tossing it to the ground as he waited for the drunken teens to give him there attention. "You will all be dead inside of ten minutes, and there's nothing you can do about it really." Mika stepped out of the kitchen behind him, his eyes already black, he noted the doors and windows and immediately had them shut and locked. Some of the teens gasped and tried to get them open, to no avail. Ranec, too, allowed his eyes to turn black once again. "Scream all you like," Ranec encouraged, nodding in the direction of a young girl who had begun to scream as loudly as she could. "I quite enjoy that." With a wave of his hand the couch, occupied by at least three people, burst into flames, the occupants screaming in pain as they tried everything they could to extinguish the flames that had spread to their clothes. "Besides, no one who could hear you will be here in time."

"The best thing you can do," Mika added, nodding at a couple of teenagers and sending them flying into the wall, "is put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye."

Lights flicked on in the house across the street, the owners woken by screams of pain and terror.

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**Reviews Please!**


	2. Sleep Spent

**Yay chapter two! **

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Iron and Salt was a small, run down book shop in a Victorian style building and at 1am the only light came from a lamp in the apartment above. Dorian Sheppard, owner of both the shop and the apartment, was sleeping soundly, propped up against his pillows. A book lay open on his lap, and he had fallen asleep reading it, his finger still holding his place. A sharp knock on the door caused him to jerk awake and he looked around, slightly confused as to what had woken him up. There was another knock on the door and he frowned, throwing the covers off his bed and heading down the stairs to the door next to his shop. He pulled open the door to find a slightly dishevelled Janaya and Nora leaning on each other. Or rather, Janaya was dishevelled and Nora was leaning. Dorian looked closer and realised that she was barely holding on to consciousness.

"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, his British accent stronger than ever in his worry, and he opened the door wider, ushering them inside. "What the hell kind of bomb hit your party?"

Despite everything, Janaya felt a smirk spread across her face as she looked at Dorian, dressed only in boxers, standing in front of her and Nora. She resisted the urge to cover Nora's eyes, knowing her friend was too drunk to be subtle about her feelings towards Dorian. Not that it mattered as Nora could barely keep her eyes open long enough to notice Dorian was even there.

"I've got to talk to you," Janaya said, suddenly serious. She attempted to help Nora inside but Nora had completely lost consciousness by this point and Janaya struggled to hold her up. "But we should probably deal with this mess first."

Dorian nodded and slung Nora's arm around his neck, slipping an arm under her legs and lifting her up. Janaya walked up the stairs, the pair of them in tow, and let Dorian lead them to his bedroom, where he laid Nora on his bed before picking up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Janaya folded her arms and leant against the door frame as he slipped on his clothing. "Some guys showed up at the party and started some trouble." Janaya but back a harsh laugh at herself and shook her head. Trouble was more than an understatement. "They..." she paused briefly, remembering Val, face down in the sink, her dress stained with her own blood. "They killed Val."

Dorian froze and turned to Janaya. He hadn't known Val nearly as long as he'd known Janaya and Nora but he'd thought she was fairly cool. And being murdered at a party was an awful way to go. "What? Why?"

Janaya stared back at him, silent for a moment as she forced tears to stay behind her eyes. "Because they wanted to."

Dorian watched her for a moment longer before he finished getting dressed in silence. Janaya watched as he pulled the blankets over Nora, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before turning back to Janaya quickly. She allowed herself a small smile and he raised an eyebrow at her but she shook her head. Sooner or later those two would figure it out for themselves that they were perfect for each other.

"Alrighty then," Dorian said, giving Janaya a strange look. "Did you notice anything unusual about them?"

"I dunno, Dorian." She tilted her head to the side. "Do black eyes and super strength count as unusual?"

The look he gave her was a mix surprise and fear. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped as Janaya glanced at Nora and motioned for them to leave the room, leading the way into the kitchen. Nora may have been unconscious, but Janaya didn't want to have this conversation around her... not until she was sure it was necessary. She'd been through enough for the evening. The kitchen was only separated from the living room by a breakfast bar, the whole apartment was slightly run down but had a homely feel to it. She sat down on one of the stools next to the breakfast bar and he stepped into the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water.

"This is going to sound crazy," she said slowly, looking at Dorian closely to gauge his reaction. "But they were demons."

Dorian choked on his water and she continued to observe him seriously as he spluttered and spilt water down his t-shirt.

When he had caught his breath finally he put the glass of water down and shook his head. "No, they weren't, Janaya, you were probably just freaking out because they'd just killed your friend. Had you been reading before you'd gone out?"

Janaya opened her mouth to deny it but that was pointless because she _had_ been reading before she'd gone out. That didn't change anything though. "So me and Nora had the same hallucination?" she asked. "Nora saw their eyes too and it can't have been the alcohol because I'd had barely a sip, and it can't have been the stress because she was too drunk to be stressed..." she trailed. "I know they were demons Dorian... and they were surprised to find out I knew what they were... I just don't get _how_ they were demons, you know?"

"They talked to you?" Dorian asked in surprise.

Janaya shrugged. "I wouldn't say they _talked_ to me exactly... but like I said, they were surprised... they didn't expect for anyone to know, I guess, and I caught them off guard..." She laughed slightly to herself, despite the inappropriate time. "Though I doubt I caught them off guard nearly as much as Nora did."

"What did Nora do?"

Janaya raised an eyebrow at him. In that one sentence he'd manage to convey anger, panic, surprise and relief all at the same time. "She defended herself," she said firmly. She didn't know why she didn't just tell Dorian what Nora had done, but there was really only room for one person to get over protective of Nora and Janaya had gotten there first. "What does it matter what Nora did anyway?"

Dorian gave her a surprised look that she took to mean she should know this already. "Demons, Jay, demons kill people. Without blinking. What if she'd gotten hurt?"

Tilting her head to the side, Janaya blinked at Dorian, silent for a long moment. "I thought you said they weren't demons," she said slowly, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I..." Dorian started but he gave up under Janaya's cool gaze. He _could_ lie to her, but it would be pointless now, she would see right through him. "Alright, so there may be a few things that I... neglected to tell you."

"Oh, you think?" Janaya's eyes were widened slightly as she debated whether to be angry or surprised. She was surprised to find that Dorian knew this stuff was real... and appeared to have known for quite some time. And she was angry that he hadn't informed either her or Nora of this fun little fact. "Like, demons exist and they could show up any day to try and kick your ass?"

Dorian sighed. "Like, Demons exist and I used to hunt them," he said quietly.

Any argument that Janaya might have been preparing fell dead on her lips as she stared at Dorian. _That_ she hadn't been expecting. Although she supposed it made sense. He knew about demons and she assumed that most people that knew about evil would do what they could do stop it... except for the evil people of course. "Used to?" she asked tentatively.

Another sigh from Dorian told Janaya she wasn't getting any in depth answers. "We're not getting into my life story tonight, Jay, we've got more important things to worry about."

Janaya folded her arms across her chest. "Like what?"

Dorian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands clenching into fists for a brief moment. He loved Janaya like a sister but Jesus Christ she was so stubborn sometimes that he just wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and shake her till she saw sense. "Like the fact that you being alive means that you probably pissed off a couple of demons... and demons aren't the type to forgive and forget. If demons and hunters have anything in common, it's their inability to let things go." He looked at her seriously, worry evident on his face. "Those demons _will_ come after you... and when they catch up to you... it won't be pretty."

Janaya had always wished that things like this existed. That the world was a little more interesting. That there was more to it than school and life and death. But hearing that it was all true was not as awesome as she had thought it would be. Maybe it was the part where demons were going to hunt her down and kill her painfully that she wasn't enjoying so much, but Janaya felt as if her entire world had shattered and there was no way for her to put it back together. Demons were coming after her for fucks sake. And not just her, Nora too... and what about everyone at Cassandra's house? What had happened to them when she and Nora had left? It was all way too much.

"Can I have some ice?" she asked quietly, staring into space, her fingers brushing lightly over her bruised throat as she tried not to imagine all of the horrible ways she and Nora could die. Damn her vivid imagination. Dorian wrapped an ice pack in a tea towel and pressed it gently against her neck, the cold soothing the pain slightly and also jolting her back into reality. She smiled slightly at him, pressing her hand against the ice pack so that Dorian could let go. He stepped away from her, but only a little, watching her in concern. He didn't think he could remember a time when she'd been stunned into so much silence.

"Listen," he said finally. "I know this is a lot to take in all at the same time... and if I'd known something like this would happen I would have broken it to you more gently... prepared you... I guess I just hoped that you guys were impervious to this kind of thing..." he had never wanted to involve the girls in this kind of life... in any kind of life that didn't involve being able to walk down the street without having to look over their shoulders all the time. Unfortunately, life never seemed to go as planned, which he guessed he should have learnt by now. "The only thing I can do to prepare you now is to tell you that you already know the important theory work."

Janaya had only been half listening but this got her attention and she frowned at him. "What?"

"The Supernatural series," Dorian explained, heading into the living room half of the apartment and pulling a book off the bookshelf that stood against one of the walls. "I know it sounds insane, and believe me, I was surprised, but everything in here, the salt, the iron, even the exorcisms are one hundred percent correct. I don't know how this guy did it... but he knows everything." He replaced the book on the shelf and looked at Janaya imploringly. "You know this stuff... and I know you can fight, I've seen you at your classes and it makes me want to hug your mum till she pops..." Janaya raised an eyebrow at him, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "And I know Nora can't... well... not to the extent you can... just... promise me that when you go home you'll keep an eye on her? Keep salt in the doorways and windows... devil's traps if you can muster them -"

Janaya snorted derisively and Dorian looked at her, surprised. "Go home?" she asked. "Are you completely insane? What makes you think that learning that demons are after my ass would make me want to go home? They could go there and hurt Mom... or go to Nora's place and hurt her parents... or come here and hurt you..." she shook her head firmly. "I know we got lucky this time... they hadn't expected us to know... they hadn't expected a fight... but next time they'll be ready and no matter how well I can fight, or how well I know their weaknesses... I know it won't be enough." She fixed Dorian with a firm stare that she felt left no room for argument. "We have to run. Nora and I... we have to get out of town and run like fuck."

"No," Dorian said, ignoring Janaya's frustrated growl and roll of her eyes. "Come on, think about this. If you think you won't last fighting in your own home, do you seriously think you two will make it on your own while being hunted down? Constantly under threat? That is _the_ stupidest thing I have ever heard."

Janaya glared at him. "Then what the fuck else can we do, Dorian?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice down for fear of waking Nora. "We can't stay, we can't run... we might as well go back to the party and say 'hey, demon dudes, we know you're going to kill us and there's fuck all we can do to stop you so why don't we just get this over with?'"

Dorian ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to think, before growling loudly and punching the bookcase in front of him, making Janaya jump in her seat before freezing, thinking she'd heard a noise of complaint from Dorian's bedroom. Dorian froze as well but, when no other noises were heard, they both resumed the conversation. Though admittedly at a lower volume than before. "This is all just a big, bloody bag of _wank_," Dorian said seriously, walking back over to the breakfast bar and sitting in the stool next to Janaya, resting his elbow on the bar and his head on his fist. "You can't stay," he agreed quietly. "But you can't run either... not by yourselves..." he sighed, wishing with every fibre of his being that this was a nightmare and he would soon wake up to realise Nora and Janaya weren't in any danger and he would never have to be caught up in this crap ever again. "So you'll run... and I'll go with you."

Janaya's face softened and she shook her head. "You can't just pack up your life here for us," she pointed out.

"You two are all I've got," he countered, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "If anything happened to you... it's worth giving up my life here if it means you'll be safe. I've got the experience, I can teach you and Nora more of what you need to know... you have a better chance with me."

Smiling faintly, Janaya reached out and touched Dorian's cheek lightly. "I'm sorry," she said seriously, attempting to stifle a yawn, and failing, and wincing as the yawn aggravated her throat.

Dorian stood and gave Janaya his best 'mum' face. "Bed for you, I think," he said firmly. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but all that came out was another yawn that hurt her throat again. "Definitely bed. I'll sleep out here."

"But - "

"Goodnight, love."

Despite the late hour it had been when they got to bed, they all rose before ten... even Nora who thankfully wasn't concussed at all. It had taken the better part of their morning to explain to Nora what Janaya and Dorian had discussed while she'd slept. Nora pressed her forehead to the cool linoleum on the breakfast bar as she tried to take it all in. Running away? From demons? So what she thought had been a really vivid nightmare had actually happened.

"Why does my head hurt?" she cried out loud. She flexed her right fist and whimpered, pain shooting up her arm. "And why does my hand hurt?" She sat up and stared at her plate of bangers and mash (why he couldn't just call it sausages and potatoes was beyond her) that Dorian had cooked for her and felt her stomach churn, pulling over the bag of sliced bread and buttering two pieces, ladening them with potato and sausages.

Janaya shook her head at Nora. "Well, your head hurts 'cause you got completely trashed last night," she explained as Nora began to construct her sandwich. "And your hand hurts because you pummelled a demon's face in... Well done."

"You did what?" Dorian asked, looking up quickly from the frying pan.

"I told you she defended herself," Janaya said simply, picking up her coffee and drinking from it deeply, ignoring the searing heat. She flicked through the newspaper, finding an interesting article about a strange string of accident related deaths.

Dorian stared at her for a long moment before turning his attention to Nora, who was still piling together a sandwich that would probably end up being bigger than her own head. ""I think your headache has less to do with you getting completely and utterly banjo'd last night and more to do with you slipping over and cracking your head open on some kitchen tiles." Nora shot him a faux glare and he grinned. "Though as mad as I am that you even got into a fist fight with a demon in the first place, I can't help but be a little proud." Nora grinned, her heart fluttering at Dorian's praise, but his face quickly turned serious again. "Having said that, don't do it again, under any other circumstance those demons would have killed you both."

"We know this, Dorian," Janaya sighed, taking another deep drink from her coffee. "Which is why we're running, remember?"

"Hey, weird string of deaths in southern California," Nora noted, reading the newspaper over Janaya's shoulder. "First stop on our road trip?"

"You read my mind," Janaya said, grinning at her.

Dorian spun around to face them so quickly he nearly knocked the frying pan off the stove. "You two are completely impossible! We are running _for your lives_," he reminded them. "We are all up and leaving our lives, your families, so we can try and stay one step ahead of a couple of demons who probably really want to kill you. This is not a road trip! Why won't you take this seriously?"

Nora stared at Dorian in shock for a long moment, looking a little hurt. "We are taking this seriously," she defended quietly.

"I'm sorry," Dorian sighed. "I just wish you'd act a little more - "

"Scared?" Janaya cut in, her coffee cup halfway to her lips. "We are scared, Dorian. I don't know about Nora, but I am more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. So what, I'm supposed to just let these assholes get the better of me? We're running, yes, but running to where? We have to stay on the move anyway, we just want - " she stopped speaking and jumped as her cellphone rang loudly. Sighing, she pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" she said, by way of answer. Nora looked at her questioningly and she merely rolled her eyes in response. "Yes, I'm dead, that is how I answered the phone, mother..." Janaya slid off the stool and took her conversation to somewhere less in the way.

"We just want a little more purpose to this running away thing," Nora said, finishing Janaya's thought. "Running's going to be hard enough as it is without being able to _do_ something."

"It's dangerous," Dorian said firmly. "It's not always like the books, people die doing this job all the time."

Nora shrugged. "And running away from demons isn't dangerous?"

Janaya sprinted out of Dorian's bedroom and dived at the television, hitting the on button and looking for the right button to change the channel. "Channel six!" she growled back at Dorian who immediately grabbed the remote and switched channels. The picture on the screen was of what once was Cassandra's beautiful house, now gutted by fire. It showed people being carried out in body bags, unrecognisable charcoal versions of their former selves.

"No one is sure, yet, what happened here," the news presenter standing in front of the house was saying. "The fire department will be entering soon to discover the cause of the blaze, meanwhile ME's are still removing bodies from inside... bodies that will have to be identified by dental records..."

The television went silent as Dorian pointed the remote at it again and muted it. But none of them could drag their eyes from the scene before them. Janaya, with her back to the other two, had her hand pressed firmly against her mouth and she was blinking quickly to prevent tears from falling. She may not have liked the people in that house but nobody deserved what they got... but she wouldn't cry. Janaya LaMorte did not cry, especially not in front of people. Nora had pushed her giant sandwich away from her and had silent tears streaming down her face and Dorian just stared at the screen in shock. He should have known something like that would happen... he switched the television off and blinked several times.

"We need to get going," he said firmly. "If they did that, they'll be looking for you soon."

When she had managed to compose herself to her satisfaction, Janaya stood and turned around. "Yeah... leaving... I gave Mom some bullshit story about an early road trip to check out the college campus... that'll give use a couple of weeks at least until we need to come up with a new story." She tossed her cellphone to Nora. "Call your parents, tell them the same thing."

Nora stared down at the cellphone then up at Janaya. "I can't go home and say goodbye?"

Janaya shook her head. "Do you want that - " she gestured at the television and though the screen was black they could all still see what had been there before " - to happen to them?" she knew it was harsh and she instantly regretted having said it but it was the truth. "If either of us go home... the demons can track us there and we'll have a repeat of last night... we can't let that happen."

Nora knew Janaya was right and it scared her more than the idea of demons coming after her. After a moment of hesitation, Nora dialled home so she could talk to her parents. Dorian watched for a moment, his jaw tight, before heading into his bedroom to begin packing his things... the important things at least. Curious, Janaya followed him and leant against the door frame as he moved quickly through his room. After tossing a few clothes into the bag, he glanced at Janaya and looked at her for a moment as if debating something in his head, before shrugging and kneeling down to pull something out from under his bed. It was a wooden chest, somewhere between medium and large sized, and Janaya moved further into the room and knelt down next to him, her lips pressed tightly shut to keep herself from asking annoying questions.

Dorian glanced at Janaya, seeing her all but bursting with curiosity, and allowed a small smile to cross his lips. "It's my dad's old stuff," he explained, answering her silent question and opening the lid of the chest. Inside it was all the things Janaya had imagined would have been inside the trunk of the Impala. Shotguns, machetes, knives, holy water... the works. Dorian moved quickly, moving the things in the chest to his bag as fast as he could, remembering they were still on a tight schedule. His hands hesitated over a small knife and a dusty old book so Janaya, unable to stop herself, reached into the chest and pulled out both. She flicked through the book, but it was all in Latin so she didn't understand a word of it until she looked just inside the front cover.

_Dorian,  
Don't let them win.  
With love and pride, William._

"That was my grandfather's," Dorian said, slowly taking the book out of Janaya's hands and placing it gently in the bag. "He gave it to me for my fifteenth birthday."

Janaya nodded her understanding and glanced back into the chest. "The knife too?"

Dorian lifted the knife out of the chest and nodded. "He had it specially made for me. Iron blade, for demons."

"You're whole family were hunters?" Looking at Dorian, Janaya would not have picked him to be raised with a family of demon hunting badasses. Not to say that Dorian wasn't capable... he almost certainly was... he just didn't look the type.

"As far back as they go."

"Where are they?" Almost as soon as she had asked the question, she had wished she hadn't as Dorian, who had been standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder, froze and closed his eyes.

"Dead," he said quietly, lost in thought.

Standing slowly, Janaya placed a hand on Dorian's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said after a long moment of silence, unable to find anything else to say.

Dorian said nothing for a long time, simply stood in the middle of his room, eyes closed. Eventually, he took a deep breath, raised his chin and looked at Janaya seriously. "We need to get going."

Janaya lowered her hand and sighed, following Dorian out of his bedroom and back into the main living room. Nora had just ended her phone call and tossed the cellphone back to Janaya. "They're sorted for the next couple of weeks," she assured them. "But after that we're going to need another excuse."

Janaya nodded, thinking for a moment. "Alright, so, since I'm the only one with a car, I guess that answers the mode of transportation question. Dorian, you can put that stuff in the trunk."

"What about things like, clothes? And food? And you know... stuff?" Nora asked.

Janaya shrugged. "Not for nothing does my mother abandon me every other day," she pointed out. "I charge it, she pays... we'll just buy new stuff later."

Before Nora could argue, and Janaya counter, Dorian stepped in. "You girls go get in the car, I need to make a phone call."

Janaya wanted to tell him that they could wait, but decided they didn't have time to argue about it, and maybe Dorian needed a moment alone. "Alright," she said, pulling on Nora's sleeve and leading her to the car.

Sighing, Dorian picked up the phone and, hesitating only a moment, dialled a number he knew by heart. "Michael?" he asked when the other person picked up. "Yeah, hey, it's Dorian... I've got a situation and I could really use your help."

* * *

**And there it is. Revieeeeew :D**


End file.
